Panthera Spelaea

“Are you sure it was the right call not letting Mom and Dad know we were coming?” The limo had turned off the main highway, and we were only a few miles from home now.

“If we called, Mom would have been at the airport. You know her interrogation wouldn’t stop until she knows it all. Dad would have been too busy with work to come with, so we’d have to tell him the whole story. If we decide to tell Patrick, that’s one more time when he comes home from MIT on Christmas break. I’d rather not go through this more times than we have to.”

“Mom’s going to freak out when we show up. I never told her I was heading to Europe.” I raised an eyebrow at this confession. “What? They told me the trip was for a job interview with Karpen Investments! I needed leverage to get Dad to kick up my salary, plus it was on his yacht in the Aegean. How could I turn it down?”

“Telling you to pack a swimsuit was my idea,” Anna said with a grin. “I looked up the weather forecast for Philadelphia during the trip. Mid-thirties for highs with snow flurries? Sibenik was an easy call.”

“I got my assignments done on the flight over, so I don’t need to attend classes. My finals start in six days. I have to be back at Wharton the day before,” Melanie said.

The privacy glass was up, so we could still talk. “We should stay with Melanie while she’s at school,” Svetlana said. “You can continue to train her, and we can keep an eye on her in case her eagle starts to cause problems.”

I agreed. “Whether we do it here or up in Montana, I’d like to get her eagle out a few times so she can learn some control. You remember how my Lion was when he got cooped up too long.”

“Agreed,” Anna said.

“I have a one-bedroom apartment near campus,” Melanie complained.

“We’ll get a hotel suite,” I said. “God knows we can afford it now.” Dad was paying for her apartment and tuition at the Wharton School, a top business university.

Melanie looked worried about something. “Can I still go to school with this whole Switcher thing?”

“I don’t see why not. Few people know you have an Eagle, and the other Switchers I know have lived without detection for decades, even centuries. Once you and your raptor are sharing your mind and you have control over your switching, it should be fine,” I said. “The more time you spend with feathers, the better. Regular trips to the country and some flying time should keep your raptor happy.”

Melanie was looking at the sprawling ranch-style mansion we called home. Most of the home was dark except Dad’s office lights and some in the kitchen. The driveway lights came on automatically as the limo stopped near the front entryway, and Consuela burst out the door when she saw us. “Master John! Mistress Melanie! What a surprise!” Our head housekeeper and cook was in her fifties, a Mexican grandmother who had been with us my entire life. She greeted us with hugs and kisses. “And who did you bring with you?”

“My fiancé, Svetlana, and my good friend Anna,” I told her. I wouldn’t tell anyone of our real relationship until I’d confessed to my parents.

“Welcome, welcome. If you need anything at all, ask me,” Consuelua said as she embraced them like family. “This is so exciting! I can’t believe John is finally bringing a girl home, and such a beautiful one!”

“Which is harder to believe, Consuela? That I brought a girl home, or that she is beautiful?”

She didn’t get to answer before Mom burst out the door. “JOHN! MELANIE!” She ran out and crashed into my arms, hugging me like I was about to fly away or something. I chuckled, thinking I was the wrong one of her children to do that. “I’ve been so worried!”

“We’re fine, Mom. We had to get out of Russia in a hurry, and some friends helped us stay out of sight. I did pick up a passenger on the way home, though.”

“I thought you were in school!” Mom moved over to embrace Melanie.

“I took some time for an adventure,” my sister replied.

“Well, grab your things and come inside! I can’t wait to hear about it!”

“Mom, it’s going to take a while, and Dad needs to be in the discussion. Can you make a big pot of coffee and meet us in his office? I’ll help the girls settle in.” She agreed, and we brought our things into the house. I set all of our luggage inside my room, then gave my mates a quick tour while Consuela went to the kitchen to begin cooking up a storm.

We ended up at my Dad’s office, where Melanie was waiting to knock. “Come in,” Dad said. We entered the room, and his eyes lit up as he saw me. “Son, it’s good to have you back,” Lewis said. Dad looked young for his age, his silver hair still full, and his body still looking like the athlete he’d been. He embraced me before I introduced the girls to him.

Mom arrived with the coffee, and we all sat down in his sitting area. “Is everything over in Russia now?”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to start at the beginning. It might take a few hours to get through everything.”

“If you think that is best,” Mom said. The part about the Cave Lion carcass, my time in the Russian hospital, and meeting Svetlana and Anna went smoothly because Mom already knew most of it. After that, things got more interesting.

I told them about how I started noticing my senses getting more acute, plus having strength and speed I’d never had before. Mom didn’t know what to say, and Dad was openly dismissive. “A quick demonstration,” I said. “Mom, go over to Dad’s bookcase and pull out a random book to a random page.” I moved to the other side of his large office, putting me more than thirty feet away.

I read the book without difficulty. Then I had my mates lock hands over my right hand, and I lifted them both above my head. Pushing them straight up would have been too easy, so I used only a straight right arm. “Dad, I can’t exercise in a hotel gym anymore because the weights don’t challenge me, and the treadmills don’t go fast enough. All of this happened in a few weeks after Siberia.”

“It’s impossible! Humans can’t change that way!”

“Hold that thought,” I said. I had Svetlana and Anna adding to the story as I talked about switching into a Cave Lion, then waking up nude on their balcony. “That picture of the lion in the streets of Moscow months ago? That was me. The Cave Lion wasn’t your ordinary carcass. There was something magical about it, and when I touched it? I changed forever.”

Anna saw my parent’s look of disbelief. “You may as well show them,” she told me.

I took off my shoes and started stripping down. “What are you doing,” Mom exclaimed.

“I’m showing you what I am,” I told them. I stepped behind a high-backed chair to hide my nudity, placing my clothing on the back of it. “Don’t scream. I don’t need Consuela seeing this, and it’s perfectly safe. It’s still me, just a different me.”

Just to be safe, Melanie moved behind her parents on the love seat they shared and put her hands on their shoulders. “Don’t take your eyes off him,” she whispered.

I got down on my hands and knees, legs sticking out one side and shoulders out the other, then I called forward my Lion. The shift was instantaneous, while the reaction to me took a few seconds. It’s like the shock from when you get kicked in the nuts, and your brain takes a moment to realize you’re in agony.

“OH my GOD!” Mom was staring at me, bug-eyed.

Dad pulled Mom behind him. “What the FUCK?”

I stretched out, my big paws in front of me as I arched my back. Shaking my head, I looked at my parents through my Lion’s eyes. I could scent their fear, and we didn’t like it. I laid on my stomach, licking at a paw while I waited for them to calm down. “Isn’t he beautiful,” Svetlana said as she knelt next to my head. “So warm and soft.”

Dad was relaxing a bit, seeing I wasn’t attacking. “He’s HUGE!”

“I think I peed myself,” Mom said. I raised my nose and sniffed. Yep, just a little.

Anna held out a hand to my Mom. “Come pet him. He loves getting scratches.”

She looked at Dad, then shakily got to her feet. “He always did want attention.” Melanie took Dad’s hand, and together they came closer. I sniffed their hands as they held out their fists like greeting a strange dog. Deep, satisfying rumbles came from my chest as I soon had five people petting and scratching me at once. They had to accept what I was because there was no other explanation. “How is this possible?”

Melanie was the one who explained what we knew of Switchers and how they worked. “John is one of only five known switchers in the world. He is the only Cave Lion. The people we stayed with in Europe included the other four. There is a Cave Bear, a Dire Wolf, a Scimitar Cat, and a Golden Eagle.”

“All of them are species that went extinct over ten thousand years ago, but whatever magic went into the original animals continues to this day,” Anna said. “The animal pairs with a single human and remains with it until death. When the person dies, the animal goes into the next human who touches the body.”

Dad figured it out. “So this carcass you found buried in the permafrost was a Switcher?” I nodded my big lion head. “How were you the first to touch it?”

“They wore lots of protective gear during excavation, but John took off his glove and touched the fur once they had it in the boat,” Anna replied. “He doesn’t remember anything after that until he woke up in the Moscow hospital. Later, we found out that the transfer was like an electric shock, and he would have shifted to the Cave Lion right there. It takes time to get the Lion and the Human to share thoughts. We’ll never know what happened to the others in the boat.”

Mom looked up in shock. “You killed those people?”

“He doesn’t know,” Svetlana said. “We think two drowned after bailing out of the boat while the other probably tried fighting him.”

“And that lion that killed those gang members and the cop in Moscow? That was John too?”

“Those men were trying to kill John and rape us. John protected us. The police officer was shooting at him, so the lion fought back. John wasn’t in control, but his cat was acting to protect his mates.”

Mom was having trouble figuring it out. I licked her arm, making her jump. I then bumped her with the top of my head before tucking my nose in by her side. “This lion is a killer,” she said as she started to back away.

“He’s a big, fuzzy love-love,” Anna said as she climbed onto my back and buried her face in my short mane. “Fierce? Protective? Loving? He’s all that and more. He’d die for us.”

Mom had gone to Dad’s side, and he pulled her close as he thought about it. Something Svetlana said finally registered. “Mates? Both of you?”

Svetlana nodded. “I loved John from the first time I saw him. Anna felt the same, but I’d gotten him first. It turned out that John and his Lion could love both of us the same way. Switchers have a mate, chosen by their animal side and accepted by the human. Since Lions have a Pride, he’s the only Switcher with more than one mate.”

Anna got off me, and I switched back while they all sat back down. “I know it’s a shock to you. Imagine how I felt when it was happening to me. Until our minds merged, I’d be blacking out and waking up naked on their deck at four in the morning.” I sat on the couch, this time with Anna and Svetlana holding my hands openly. “We know this isn’t a normal relationship, but I love them both, and we’ll make it work.”

Dad looked between us. “How? Polygamy isn’t allowed in Texas!”

“I know. Svetlana and I are engaged; she will be my legal and public wife, but Anna will be just as much my wife in private. Anna will be our live-in nanny.”

Now Mom’s eyes got wide. “Nanny?”

It was the girl’s chance to shock the parents. “We’re pregnant,” they said together.

No one said anything for a moment. My parents were sorting through things, probably realizing that there was no way of talking me out of our triune relationship. Melanie started laughing. “Good job, bro. That’s twice now you’ve shut them up.”

“You’ll get your chance,” I said.

Mom finally spoke. “How?”

Svetlana blushed. “The usual way. He’s a fantastic lover, by the way. We were both taking contraceptives, so we didn’t expect this. There are side effects of being the mate of a Switcher. Our bodies heal incredibly fast, and we remain at our peak age and health. Fertility is one of those conditions.”

“We’re due next summer,” Anna added.

Mom realized a few things. She had a wedding to plan, and she had her first grandchildren on the way. Tears flowed down her face, and she raced over to hug her future daughters-in-law. “Are you going to have babies or cubs,” she asked.

“Babies. The Switcher doesn’t change John’s DNA, and he can’t pass it down to his children unless he dies and they touch him first.”

By the time we got done revealing that the girls and I would live until killed, never aging or getting sick, Mom had a headache. Imagine if I told them HOW the girls stayed so young and healthy! “I don’t know if I can take any more tonight,” she said.

“We can pick this up in the morning,” I told them.

“Good. I need a drink.” He poured himself a Scotch from the small bar next to the bookshelves. “How much more is there to go?” Dad looked like he’d been through the wringer.

“We’re about halfway.”

“Jesus Christ. Yeah, give us until after breakfast before you tell us more.”

We said goodnight after I assured my Mom I was still her boy. I looked at the girls after they left. “Well, that went better than I expected.”

“It ain’t over yet,” Melanie said. “Come on. I bet Consuela has some dinner ready for us.”

“I hope she made a LOT,” I said. “You’ll notice you’ll be eating more now, and you won’t gain weight.”

Consuela ran out of food shortly before midnight. She vowed not to let that happen at breakfast.